The present invention relates to an improved dispenser device for dispensing a fluid, and in particular to such a device that eliminates any risk of the fluid contained in it being contaminated.
Contamination of the fluid contained in a dispenser device is a long-standing problem, and many solutions have been proposed to remedy it. The solution generally chosen consists in disposing a filter for filtering the incoming air that replaces the previously dispensed metered quantity of fluid. The filter is generally disposed at the vent hole of the pump, which makes it necessary to modify xe2x80x9cstandardxe2x80x9d pumps that do not include such filters. Another solution has been to dispose the filter between the reservoir and the fixing ring for fixing the pump to the reservoir. That solution also makes it necessary to modify an element of the device, namely the fixing ring, which must firstly receive and hold the filter and secondly have a single opening acting as a vent hole. All of the solutions proposed until now have thus required modification of one or more component parts of the dispenser device in order to provide the function of filtering the incoming air.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,715 discloses a filter system that can be disposed outside the fixing ring of the pump on the reservoir. Sealing is implemented at the pump by means of an O-ring gasket disposed around the actuating rod of the pump. That implementation is complicated because it is relatively unreliable and risks hindering the actuating of the pump. The size of the O-ring gasket must be determined very accurately, which can be problematic.
An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispenser device that makes it possible to filter the incoming air, and that does not suffer from the above-mentioned drawbacks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispenser that makes it possible to filter the incoming air, that enables the air to be filtered without modifying the parts making up the device, and that is adaptable to fit all existing dispenser devices.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a fluid dispenser device that makes it possible to filter the incoming air, that operates reliably and safely, and that is simple to manufacture and to assemble.
To these ends, the present invention provides a fluid dispenser device for dispensing a fluid, said device comprising a fluid reservoir and a dispensing member, such as a pump, actuated by an actuating rod that is connected to a dispenser head to dispense said fluid selectively, said dispensing member being fixed to said reservoir by means of a fixing element, the dispenser device being provided with an air vent situated outside the reservoir and outside the fixing element, an air filter element being disposed in the vicinity of said air vent, outside said fixing element, said filter element being held on or in the vicinity of the air vent by means of an outer member fixed to the fixing element and/or to the reservoir, said outer member comprising a fixing portion which is fixed to the fixing element of the dispenser device, and a flexible membrane portion connected in leaktight manner to said actuating rod and/or to a piece of said dispenser head.
In a first embodiment of the invention, said filter element is an annular filter.
Advantageously, said outer member is provided with an opening disposed between said two portions, a filter being held by the outer member at said opening.
In a second embodiment of the invention, the filter element is an integral part of said outer member.
Advantageously, the filter element is said flexible membrane which is permeable to air and acts as a filter.
Advantageously, said outer member is snap-fastened to said fixing element.
Advantageously, the dispenser head is provided with closure means at the dispensing orifice, so that all of the outside air that comes into contact with the fluid contained in the dispenser device goes through the filter element, preventing any contamination of said fluid before the device is actuated, while it is being actuated, and after it has been actuated.